Taliban celebrate five years in power as Afghan women face 'gender apartheid'

Taliban mark five years in power

On 15 August 2026, the Taliban commemorated the fifth anniversary of their return to power in Afghanistan, staging a military parade with armored vehicles near the former US embassy in Kabul. Streets were decorated with flags and banners proclaiming 15 August as "the day the Afghan nation raised the flag of faith, honor and independence." Hundreds of supporters, predominantly men and boys, gathered under the watch of armed security forces in a festive atmosphere. The self-styled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan issued an official statement calling for "peace and tranquility" with all countries and demanding that other nations respect Afghan sovereignty and refrain from "conspiracies" against the country.

Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani said in a recorded video speech that the Taliban's return was the fruit of "morality, courage" and "divine help." He also made an unusual acknowledgment of "issues and problems that may still exist." The official statement described the 15 August 2021 takeover as a "great victory and liberation from foreign yoke."

The 2021 lightning offensive

The Taliban's path back to power began with a deal signed in Doha in 2020 between the United States and the Taliban, setting a troop withdrawal to start in May 2021. The Afghan government was not invited to the signing. On 1 May 2021, the Taliban launched their offensive, starting in the north and west, taking districts with little resistance from an Afghan army that either surrendered or fled. By mid-July they had seized six provincial capitals. They cut roads, captured border crossings with Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, and reached Kabul in August. In a single day, they forced the president to flee and entered the presidential palace without firing a single shot. The last US soldier left Afghanistan on 30 August 2021, ending Washington's longest intervention, launched in response to the 11 September 2001 attacks.

Women and humanitarian crisis

The UN describes the population as living under "suffocating restrictions," especially women. Close to 40% of the population needs urgent humanitarian assistance, and women's and girls' rights have been eliminated entirely. Education for girls above 12 has been restricted. Spanish Equality Minister Ana Redondo said on X that "gender apartheid cannot be normalized" and that the Taliban have condemned Afghan women "to die in life."

Farzan, a 25-year-old Afghan refugee living in Castellón, Spain, arrived on 21 August 2021 on a Spanish military evacuation plane. He told Europa Press that cutting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan punishes ordinary people. He described Afghanistan as "a prison" where speaking about women's rights can lead to jail, fines, or reprisals against family members. He has four sisters trapped by the restrictions on education imposed on women above 12.

A refugee athlete's protest

Manizha Talash, an Afghan breakdancer who fled to Pakistan in 2021 and later settled in Spain, competed at the Paris 2024 Olympics on the Refugee Athlete Team. After her performance, she displayed a banner reading "Free Afghan Women" and was disqualified by the International Olympic Committee for violating rules against political demonstrations.

“I showed this message not only for myself or my family, but for all the women and girls of Afghanistan. And I am glad I did it, and I am proud of myself. They disqualified me, but I am happy to have been with my people and to have stood by Afghan women. Breaking is my only voice and my only weapon to speak up for myself and for Afghan women.”

Internal divisions and international isolation

Five years on, the Taliban have not fallen, and no organized political or military alternative exists to replace them in the short or medium term. Only Russia has recognized the Taliban government. The regime is not monolithic: a power struggle pits the clerical core in Kandahar, led by emir Hibatullah Akhundzada, against the Kabul power center associated with Sirajuddin Haqqani. Akhundzada concentrates religious authority and increasingly centralized power, while Haqqani controls the Interior Ministry and represents a faction linked to security, state management and greater political flexibility. Afghanistan today is more secure than during the republic years but also more closed, poorer, and less inclusive, with half the population subjected to what the international community calls a gender apartheid.